I am home today, because of a little ice storm that hit us here in the south. There is no school, there is no urgency for me to rush to the shop….and for that I am grateful. I can stay at home with my kids (who are out of school), get lots of work done, plan, daydream, and just chill. An added bonus to this situation is that yesterday was my day off, and I spent it grocery shopping and cleaning my house….so I am icebound in a very well stocked and perfectly clean house. How often does that happen? Hot diggity dog!

All of this ice makes me think about these pretty plantings that we did recently at Knack. I absolutely love these industrial concrete planters that we sell in the shop, (we have little concrete tea cups too!), and I really love seeing them with filled with fresh earth and succulents in all shades of green. seeing these plump and healthy plants makes me excited for Spring, and for many more plantings of fresh herbs and flowers. Fresh flowers and green plants are truly life giving for me, and I have made a vow to have them in the shop at all times.

My current shop collection consists of a stag horn fern, two fiddle leaf figs, several air plants, and vases full of fresh cut flowers. I am forcing Spring to arrive, and currently pretending I have an entire greenhouse situation going on inside the walls at Knack!

I know this does not look like much to you all, but these tiny sprigs of life and growth bursting from the ground made me the happiest “gardener” in the world! Most of the peony plants in our area have come and gone this season…..and my peony plant did not make an appearance. {sad face} When I checked on the plant location, there were no sprigs coming up …..and on top of that when I parted the leaves and mulch a bit…. there were ants everywhere! I thought for sure my plant had been taken over by the ants, and that all of the years of waiting for that first bloom were all in vain……and I needed to start all over again. I was so sad.

BUT…….last night, as we were returning from our walk with little roo {our naughty puppy!} I happened to notice that these beautiful green sprigs were popping out of the ground! I could not believe it……..and I can’t wait to see how many blooms I get this year! I am ready to bury my face in the sweet smelling blooms.